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EA stock surges off earnings; SimCity sells 1.6M

If the stock market were a video game, then Electronic Arts shares hit a personal high score. The video game publisher's stock reached a 52-week high of $19.95 in after-hours trading, up 9%, after posting

EA stock surges off earnings; SimCity sells 1.6M

If the stock market were a video game, then Electronic Arts shares hit a personal high score.

The video game publisher's stock reached a 52-week high of $19.95 in after-hours trading, up 9%, after posting increases in revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year.

For the fourth quarter, EA raked in $1.04 billion, a 6% increase from the same time last year. For the 2013 fiscal year, revenue soared 36%.

"As we enter a new fiscal year, EA is well-positioned for dynamic growth on next generation consoles, PCs, and mobile platforms," said EA's executive chairman Larry Probst in a statement.

One of the publisher's big titles this quarter, SimCity, sold 1.6 million copies since its March launch, with half of those sales coming through digital downloads. The city simulation cracked 1 million despite a myriad of technical issues that rendered the game largely unplayable for its first few days of availability.

The company's soccer title FIFA 13 proved huge, selling 14.5 million during the fiscal year, a 30% bump from last year's release. EA is also receiving a financial push from its slate of mobile titles including The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Real Racing 3.

The positive earnings results arrive as EA continues the transition in both its business and leadership. In March, EA CEO John Riccitiello stepped down from his role, citing "shortcomings" with the company's financial results. "It currently looks like we will come in at the low end of, or slightly below, the financial guidance we issued to the Street, and we have fallen short of the internal operating plan we set one year ago," said Riccitiello at the time of his announced resignation. "And for that, I am 100 percent accountable."

Probst will serve as interim CEO until a new chief executive is found.